This invention relates to a self-contained illumination apparatus for use on an article of apparel having one or more existing buttonholes or similar orifices, or on any article capable of incorporating one or more orifices. The apparatus contains a series of illumination elements which are inserted through the buttonhole or orifice in a similar manner as a typical button fastener. The illumination functions are controlled by a circuit board and on and off switch, attached to a power source and connected to the illumination elements by the means of a conductive pathway.
This invention describes a new and unique apparatus to enhance wearing apparel drawing attention to the person wearing the article, or drawing attention to the article itself. It has been common for many years to adorn formal attire with jewelry, as in men""s dress shirts that come with matching buttonholes instead of the button and buttonhole combination where jeweled studs replace the buttons. Rhinestones, pearls and other jewelry used on evening gowns make them sparkle and more noticeable. Adorning professional and amateur entertainers"" wearing apparel, as well as children""s costumes is common practice.
Drawing attention to oneself in adverse environments also serves to promote safety, as in highway workers working at night, or bicyclist and walkers on roadsides. Wearing bright colors has helped in most circumstances, but at night colors alone are often inadequate. There are many situations where an additional form of eye-catching adornment would help to draw attention to those in adverse environments. One such example is a lost child in a crowd at night.
A variety of devices have been developed for illuminating articles of apparel, such as shirts, sweaters and the like. The following patents present a representation of such state-of-the-art devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,572 of Sidney Davidson, et al. relates to an article, preferably in the form of an article of clothing having a plurality of holes arranged in a predetermined pattern with light emitting elements associated therewith, which are energized in sequence to provide desired visual displays. The light emitting elements, such as diodes, are mounted on a substrate, preferably a flexible and foldable type of printed circuit board and which diodes are sized to project through the holes so as to render an appearance that they are mounted on the surface of the fabric. This invention is limited in that the placement of the light emitting elements are permanently fixed on the article, and therefore is not adaptable for use on other articles or for different applications.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,206 of Claude Deutsch describes an electrically controlled optical display apparatus for embellishing or decorating a design on a garment. A removable display apparatus that has lamps and electrical connectors is disposed in a composite removable patch on the inside of the garment. The lamps project outside the garment and are held by elastic clamping members surrounding the luminous heads of the lamps. Again, this patent describes an article of clothing with a fixed illuminating display, not to be easily removed or used for other purposes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,924,362 of Michael Janko et al. discloses an illuminated article, preferably an illuminated garment or article of wearing apparel. An electrically conductive harness is mounted on the article or garment at any desired location. The harness includes a pair of electrical conductors connected to an electrical power source carried by the article. An illumination means, such as light emitting diodes are connected at spaced locations to the electrical conductors. This invention teaches an illuminated garment, not an article for illuminating a garment, with many other practical uses.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,278,734 of Andrew R. Ferber teaches a light illuminating assembly having at least one light emitting element that is operatively associated with the decoration on the exterior of the wearing apparel and has an improved assembly for securing the light emitting element in predetermined openings on the article. Although this patent has singular illumination elements with a holding feature to go through a specific hole in a pattern on a garment, the wiring indicates that all the lights would be on at the same time, and does not permit different illumination patterns and intensities. Additionally, the device requires effort for cleaning the article, is not easily adaptable for other uses, and cannot be used directly on any form of commercially available garment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,461 of Craig P. Nadel describes a light illuminating assembly having at least one light emitting element that is operatively associated with a decoration on the exterior of wearing apparel that includes an assembly for securing the light emitting elements thereto, without the need for predetermined openings in the fabric of the apparel for accommodating the light emitting elements. The securing assembly includes a two-piece enclosure for each light emitting element. The electrodes of the light emitting elements penetrate the fabric and are pressed into engagement with an electrically conductive pattern formed or carried on the interior surface of the interposed section of fabric. Again the garment must be specifically designed for the particular article in which it is used, and cannot be removed for cleaning or adaptable for other purposes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,554 of Steven P. W. Guritz describes a method of manufacturing wearing apparel with optical display capability, comprised of printing an electrically conductive pathway, having a predetermined pattern, directly onto the apparel with electrical coupling means and connected to a control circuitry and having a power source for illumination. This patent is again, an illuminated garment, and not a device which may be used to illuminate any garment, and is not adaptable for other uses.
Thus with the expanding and ever changing field of apparel display and safety devices, there is an ever-present need for new and unique devices to enhance our activities and have the ability to be adaptable for other practical purposes. More particularly, there is a need for a self-contained illumination apparatus that can have one or more illuminated buttons that will fit through standard or existing buttonholes as in commercially available dress shirts or any other similar orifice through fabric, plastics, leather, or other like materials. There is a need for an illumination apparatus that can be used to adorn and enhance formal apparel or costumes, and that can be removed quickly and easily for cleaning. There is a need for an apparatus that can be removed from a formal dress garment and adaptable to other articles such as a sporting garment for safe evening activities. Finally, there is a need for an apparatus that is adaptable to both a garment as well as article other than wearing apparel, to draw attention to it.
An object of this invention is to create a self-contained illumination apparatus that can have one or more illuminated buttons that will fit through standard or existing buttonholes as in commercially available dress shirts or any other similar orifice through fabric, plastics, leather, or other like materials.
Another object of this invention is to create a self-contained illumination apparatus that can be used to adorn and enhance evening or formal apparel and costumes, and is quickly and easily removable for cleaning.
Yet another object of this invention is to create an apparatus that may be removed from a dress garment and inserted on a sporting garment for safe evening activities.
Still another object of this invention is to create a self-contained illumination apparatus that can be used additionally for safety when an individual is required to be in an adverse environment after dark.
A further object of this invention is to create an apparatus that is adaptable for use on a garment as well as an article other than wearing apparel, to draw attention to it. A final object of this invention is to create a truly unique and yet simple multipurpose, multifunctional self-contained illumination apparatus.
The present invention accomplishes its desired objectives by creating a simple, yet very effective, apparatus for enhancing wearing apparel while the same apparatus can be removed easily and used for other practical purposes. In the preferred embodiment of the apparatus, there may be one or more illumination elements or optical display devices connected by a conductive pathway as in an elongated strip or wiring harness to a controlling circuit board encapsulated in the snap fastener on a nine volt battery.
There may be several variations in the electronics of the apparatus staying within the scope of the patent. The apparatus is controlled by the user, the surrounding environment, or through a series of optional inputs. There may be an on-off switch for controlling the power supplied to the control circuit. User input switches may provide a means of manipulation for the current pattern, animation speed, brightness, or other parameters that would affect the appearance and operation of the illumination buttons. There may also be a means by which environmental sensors provide input to the control circuit for the purpose of affecting the lights, including sensors for ambient sound, light, temperature, and motion. Any of these input means can be mounted directly on the controlling circuit board or connected to the circuit board or mounted elsewhere as desired. An alternate means of mounting the sensors would be mounting them in a unit similar to the illumination buttons and connected through the wiring harness.
The preferred embodiment of the illumination buttons may consist of a means of encasing a light emitting diode or similar device in a plastic molded housing resembling a shirt button stud. The structure may consist of a flat button-like top section centered on a cylindrical center section, smaller in diameter than the top, forming the shank of the device, with another button-like section forming the bottom, where the connective wiring is encased. Though the button like structures would commonly have a round shape, it is understood that the buttons can be molded in a wide variety of decorative shapes as long as they are sized to removably fasten through a common buttonhole, orifice, or other loose fabric weave in an article. The shank portion of the illumination button will be large enough in diameter to enclose the light emitting diode and/or connective wiring, so that only the spherical end protrudes beyond the top surface, while maintaining a small enough diameter to fit through a common buttonhole. Commercially available light emitting diodes come in a variety of colors while color caps may be used to cover the white lights as desired.
An additional embodiment of the illumination button will have a transparent dome, attached to the top surface with a light emitting element enclosed within. In addition to surface-mount light emitting diodes, other forms of electrical light emitting elements capable of being housed within the illumination button, projecting outwardly for this purpose, presently available or that are developed within the duration of this patent will be considered within the scope of this patent.
Illumination buttons may be attached to the control circuit by means of an elongated flexible conductor, such as insulated wires formed into a grouping or strip called a harness. The length of the wiring harness and the relative positions of the illumination buttons will vary for the different styles that will be available. The flexibility of the wiring harness will allow comfort to the individual wearing the device close to the body in all forms of activities. The wiring harness can be constructed so that each illumination button is activated independently creating a means for animated effects. Though less desirable, the illumination buttons may also be wired in series or parallel, where only two wires are used, and all the lights go on and off at the same time.
A control circuit on the circuit board distributes power to the illumination buttons and may be designed so that all the lights are lit simultaneously and continuously, or individually and selectively. The brightness, duration, and timing of the illumination for each light, is determined by the control circuitry. The resulting animation may be sequential, random, or designed to produce a particular pattern or multiple patterns. The control circuitry may be constructed by a variety of standard methods. These approaches may involve discrete analog parts and integrated circuits, or it may be preferable to use a microprocessor-based circuit. Some of the variety of circuit boards may be sufficiently small enough to be encapsulated within the snap fastener attached to a battery, with the controlling mechanisms on top. A belt clasp may be an additional feature that can be added to the side of the fastener. Alternately, the control circuit may be housed in a box, pouch, or other enclosure that also holds the battery.
The power source used for the apparatus may be, but is not limited to a nine volt battery with the snap connectors being sufficiently small enough to be hidden inconspicuously inside a garment. Optional enclosures and soft flexible pouches may be used for housing the circuitry and battery of this unique apparatus.
These, together with other objects and advantages that will become subsequently apparent, reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.